If there was ever a better way to end an undefeated season, bring it here for examination. Until then, the honor belongs to Taylor LeBrun and the Milford softball team.

LeBrun put the finishing touch on Milford’s 25-0 season with a single past Malden’s second baseman last Saturday night to give the Scarlet Hawks a 1-0 nine-inning win and the Division 1 state championship, the first in program history.

It was the culmination of a five-year run of dominance that included a 61-game Mid-Wach A winning streak, three straight CMass titles and two Gatorade state player of the years trophies for Shannon Smith.

“This was our goal all year,” Smith said after striking out 22 in the final. “We had to put it in the back of our minds, we had to force it there because all we wanted to do was be in this game.”

That was the case for several local teams over the 2011-12 academic year that made strong runs through the postseason.

Eight teams in the local area won state championships. Some, like Milford, completed dominant seasons by collecting hardware. And others did it to return glory to a long-dormant program or keep a coach out of retirement.

All deserve to be recognized. Here is an attempt to do so, a chronological look at the season that was.

FALL SPORTS

The Dover-Sherborn girls soccer team began the preseason with the goal of nothing less than a state title. Coming off a state semifinal loss in 2010, the Raiders were concerned only with the weekend before Thanksgiving, when state championship trophies would be handed out.

So their collective shrug of the shoulders after five regular-season losses was understandable, although it dropped D-S to the No. 9 seed in the Div. 3 South sectional.

“At the start of the preseason,” senior forward Maddie Dunn said in November, “we all got together and said our goal is to win states because we lost a heartbreaker last year to (eventual state champion) Weston in the state semifinals.

“It’s been our goal every day, every game, and even after every loss. After a loss, we’ve just been saying it’s OK, states, states, states to keep pushing for that.”

It paid off with a 2-1 win over Hopedale — which also lost five times in the regular season — in the Div. 3 final. Junior Taylor Coutts had a goal and an assist.

It was a similar feeling for the Marlborough girls volleyball team, which was out for vengeance after losing in the sectional final in 2010. The Panthers took out their frustration all season, piling up a 20-0 regular-season record.

Marlborough was challenged by Hopkinton in the Div. 1 Central final, but outlasted the Hillers in five games. In the state final against Melrose, the Panthers came back from losing the first game to win the next three and take their first title since 2004.

Page 2 of 3 - “This is incredible. Everything we’ve been working toward has finally paid off,” said Alexa Fearing, who had 22 kills in the final. “We suffered a heartbreaking loss last year and we didn’t like that feeling. It ended too soon and that motivated us.”

WINTER SPORTS

It started as a journey to win the school’s first state title in 33 years. It became what may have been the best season in program history.

The Hudson boys hockey team completed a 23-1-1 season with a 5-1 win over Medway in the Div. 3 state final at TD Garden on March 18. After falling behind 1-0 early, the Hawks dominated, as they did so often in 2011-12.

It’s been three months since then and the Hawks just recently received state title rings, so perhaps it feels more real now. But in the aftermath, it all felt like a dream.

“The days after, you’re just going through your normal day,” senior Alex Pantalone said a couple weeks after the game. “I went to get a haircut and I had everyone in the barbershop asking me what the game was like, what the Garden was like. The town was just ecstatic for us. Everyone goes to the games, reads the paper.

“We finally won the state title, so it’s been pretty special.”

It was a special run for Medway under first-year coach Chris Ross. The Mustangs were the No. 10 seed in the South sectional before going on a run to the state title game, also at TD Garden.

Unlike Hudson, the Algonquin gymnastics team had a history of winning state crowns. The Tomahawks were state champs in 2011, and made it two in a row when they pulled away from Beverly on the final event of the state championships March 3.

“It almost feels better than the first one,” coach Amelia Davis said. “They battled through, there was a lot of pressure for this one. I think the fact that we were able to win it under that pressure to repeat is amazing.”

The Wayland girls swimming team was also a state champion, beating second-place Weston by 50 points at the Div. 2 state meet.

The Warriors were runners-up to Marblehead in 2011, but pulled away down the stretch this year to prevent a repeat.

“Last year hurt a lot,” Wayland coach Mike Foley said. “This crew wanted to go do it not just for themselves, but for Wayland in general.”

SPRING SPORTS

Dover-Sherborn boys lacrosse coach Brian McLaughlin has built one of the elite programs over the last few years. The Raiders had been in the Div. 3 EMass final two of the last three years with only one-goal losses to show for it.

Page 3 of 3 - Early in their final this year against North Reading, the Raiders fell behind 2-0, and it looked like it might not even be that close. Well, it wasn’t close — D-S rolled 16-6 to become the second Tri-Valley League team to win the title.

“We really had the experience,” Brandon Jaeger said. “We still came out slow, but we knew we had to pull it together and we did quick. Everyone did their job and everybody executed and we got it done.”

The spring also brought a title for the Wayland boys tennis team. The Warriors — 4-12 in 2011 — rallied from a 2-0 deficit to stun previously undefeated Sharon 3-2 in the Div. 2 EMass final.

It was as shocking a run as any this year.

“I can’t honestly say that I knew we were going to be state champions obviously,” coach Shawn Powers said, “but entering the year I knew we would have at least a chance, just based off knowing which schools graduated certain players, and anything can really happen in D2.”

That was something that rang true everywhere this year. And one would suspect it will again next year. See you in September.

(Dan Cagen can be reached at 508-626-3848 or dcagen@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanCagen.)